Former Mayor Jean to Fill Rochester, NH Council Vacancy

Former Mayor T.J. Jean is back on the Rochester City Council.

The council voted 11-0 during their meeting on Tuesday night to appoint Jean to the Ward 1 seat left vacant in April when Doug Lachance resigned.

Jean took the oath of office during the meeting and participated in the remainder of it.

He will serve the remainder of the term, which expires after the November municipal elections.

“I am thankful for everyone’s support and I am looking forward to serving the community once again,” Jean said late Tuesday following the council meeting.

Jean and local realtor Collin Coppinger were the lone candidates vying for the seat. Coppinger said the outcome was one he expected, if not the one he hoped for.

“T.J. Jean’s qualifications and experience made it easy for them to fill the seat, and he will do a great job,” Coppinger said in an email. “I wish him nothing but the best in the months ahead.”

Coppinger, who moved to Rochester with his wife about 18 months ago, said he will continue to explore public service in the Lilac City.

“I very well may consider pursuing some future opportunities within the city’s political landscape here in Rochester,” said Coppinger, who ran for state representative in Dover in 2018.

Jean, meanwhile, has said he will consider running for the Ward 1 seat in the fall elections and make a decision closer to that time.

Jean works as Vice President of Operations at Frisbie Hospital. He served three terms as Rochester mayor between 2010 and 2016, but chose not to run for re-election in the 2015 fall elections that coincided with the birth of his third child.

Jean admitted last month that he missed serving the city. He hopes to assist the council during the transition following Mayor Caroline McCarley’s planned departure later this month.

Deputy Mayor Elaine Lauterborn, a councilor from Ward 2, will serve as mayor through the fall elections.